Do you know there is a place in Sindh where it snows in winter? Yes, there is one such place and it is called Gorakh Hill . It is located in Dadu District and has an altitude of 5500 ft. It is the highest place in the Kirthar range of hills (reachable by road) which also forms the provincial boundary between Sindh (Dadu) and Balochistan (Khuzdar) as a jagged backbone. The highest peak in Sindh is also located in the Kirthar range and is called ‘dog’s grave’ and has an altitude of 2174 m (7133 ft). Following is a breath taking view of Gorakh Hill. Photo credits belong to [2] below.
How to Reach There:
From Dadu city the top of Gorakh Hill is at a distance of 93 km. To reach Gorakh, one starts going west from Dadu. At kilometer marker 17 from Dadu, is a place called Johi which is a ‘tehseel’ of Dadu district.
At kilometer marker 39 from Dadu is a village called Wahi Pandi which forms the base camp of Gorakh Hill. Wahi Pandi is a decent size village with a population of approximately 20,000.
The photo to the left below shows landscape near Wahi Pandi. The photo to the right below shows a glimpse of single track road to Gorakh Hill
After Wahi Pandi the road gains altitude fast. At kilometer marker 53, the road enters a pass called the Yaro Pass. In Sindhi it is called the ‘Yaro saain jo lak’. Yaro pass is located at an altitude of approximately 2500 ft. At kilometer marker 76, the road enters yet another pass. This one is called the Khanwal Pass and it is 4 km long.
The photo to the left below shows road through Yaro Pass. The photo to the right below shows the starting point of Khanwal Pass
The lower end of Khanwal Pass is at approximately 3000 ft above sea level while the higher end of the pass is at approximately 5000 ft altitude. From the top of Khanwal Pass to the top of Gorakh Hill is a distance of another 13 km. (kilometer marker 93 from Dadu).
The photos below show different views of Khanwal Pass.
Coming from Karachi, there is a shorter route to Johi. A road from Sehwan Sharif on Indus Highway (N55) branches off to Johi at a distance of 40 km. This way you can bypass the city of Dadu and the route is 20 km shorter.
Accommodation at the Top:
There is a small rest house available at the top of Gorakh Hill but be prepared to do camping outside. According to Reference [1] below:
Out of the two rooms, only one can be used by guests, as the other one is being used as a store room. While the rest house is wired up, there was no electricity, probably due to heavy rains I presume. However, there is a back-up generator in working condition, but no water, so remember take a good amount of with you
The photos below are courtesy of my friend Shabbir Ali Bijarani and show his camping trip to Gorakh Hill
Gorakh Hill top gives a vast unhindered views of the Sindh and Balochistan landscape. According to [1]:
The sunrise is definitely worth viewing here. As the early rays of the sun hit the top one can see the gradual illumination of the beautiful valley of Wahi Pandi towards the east, while the Sindh-Baluchistan border lies visible towards the west.
Satellite Images of Gorakh Hill:
The first image shows the road-end at the top of the Gorakh Hill as well as location of a small rest house.
The image below shows the location of Gorakh Hill by red arrow. The white line to the left is the Sindh-Balochistan border. Also note the winding road leading to Gorakh Hill
History of Development:
Sometimes back in 1998, it was decided to make Gorakh Hill a resort for tourists at par with other hill stations of Pakistan located in North-Western Pakistan. The hill resort project included development of a waterfall, cable chair lift from the Gorakh hill to the Chokor hill, 10-beded hospital, water filter plant, security check post and a race course.
According to [4],
Despite passage of eight years and expenditure of more than Rs 200 million, the fate of the Gorakh Hill station project still hangs in the balance because of indifference of the government. The PC-1 of the project was revised and an amount of Rs 198.269 million was released on Feb 24, 2004. The funds were meant for constructing a road from Wahi Pandi to Gorakh hill at a cost of Rs 86.353 million, development of water supply scheme at the cost of Rs 34.636 million and purchasing vehicles and other equipment at a cost of Rs 8 million
Communications at the Top:
There are neither any land lines for telephone nor a mobile service available at Gorakh Hill. However, Pakistan Telecommunication Limited (PTCL)’s wireless service called the V-PTCL Wireless works at Gorakh Hill. Reference [1] below.
Weather:
In summers the day time temperature at Gorakh Hill reaches 25C but at night a drop of 20C to 5C is not unusual. Gorakh Hill gets occasional snowfall during winters too.
ATP’s Related Post on Another Tourist Spot in Kirthars:
Toshangi Gorge: The Grand Canyon of Sindh
References and Photo Credits:
[1] Gorakh Hill Station by Umair Ahmed Shaikh of 4×4 Offroaders Club, Karachi
[2] Gorakh Hill Photo by umashah79 here.
[3] Gorakh Hill Photo by ahashmi here.
[4] Gorakh Hill Project in doldrums
[5] Rakaposhi Hiking Club, Nawabshah
[6] www.googleearth.com
[7] Shabbir Ali Bijarani’s photos here
This news item appears in today’s jang. March 31, 2009:
Hello Owais,
I think the information that you have given is pretty good. what i need to know is that how one can make this whole tour economical?? What if someone cant arrange 4 X 4 vehicle to go up there …is there any thing else that you can suggest…..
dear any
i have search my releted he livinng in villege of venai
sindh hedrabad pakistan
please send details me
allah hafiz
Great info!
Could you please add information about where you took the satellite photos from. I located Gorakh on Google earth (it is at 26 degree 49′56.22″ N & 67 degree07′40.83 E) & the flight simulator in Google earth gives a stunning 3D view ( locate Gorakh in Google earth & press Ctr+Alt+A to enter flight simulator than press Escape to exit Flight simulator this will give you a tilted view of the hill in full 3D glory!) I have made some great images; they’re uploaded in the following album:
http://s425.photobucket.com/albums/pp339/aliathar1 23/Public%20photos/
Forget about any development in this place. Rural areas of Sindh have HORRIBLE security conditions. Only way to get here safely without hiring some body guards would be to have strong references and sources in law enforcement or government agencies so that you can get out of trouble.
Otherwise, you’re pretty much screwed :p
In response to Abhishek’s question here is what I found on wikipedia;
It is said that Great Indian Saint from medieval periods; Sri Gorakhnath ji had extensively wandered in these regions. That is why, many places are named after him. He wielded tremndous influence on people across all sects, castes, professions, classes. Such was his Yogic Power. Further discussion:-There are confusions about the name and historical background of Gorakh. It needs discussion in the light of different traditions and opinions. Locally it is stated that Gorakh is derived from Balochi word “Gurkh”. Actually Balochi word “Gurkh” is perversion of Persian word “Gurg” which means wolf. Regarding to this, it is said that Gorakh hill and its surroundings were abode of wolves. So, first it was called Gurkh and afterwards its pronunciation was changed as Gorakh. When we consider over this opinion, we can understand that, in the past wolves were not only in the area of Gorakh hill but those were also in the whole kheerthar range and its neighboring deserted area of Kachho. Therefore, it is not considerable and justified opinion for the name of Gorakh hill. Taj Sahrae, a renowned researcher and historian writes in his book “Lake Manchhar” that “Gorakh peak derives its name from one of the twenty four Tirathkarans of Jainism, Sri or Guru Gorakh Nath. According to Hindu mythology he is popularly known “Being an incarnation of Shiva and historically he is a yogi, who founded shiviate cult in 11th century A.D”. Further he writes that “before partition Hindu yogis generally used to visit this peak. On a way to it there is yet an other place of worship called tirath kumb. There was a small temple on the top of hill standing over that kumb (spring). Hindus generally visited the temple and kumb and performed their religious rituals”. (Page no: 149-50). Taj Sahrae has stated without any reference or quotation of any certified book. There are no remains or signs of any temple except the destroyed tomb of Miandad Fakir. Neither there was a temple nor history tells about the visit of yogis in this area. On other hand Tirath Kumb is far from Gorakh hill in its north-east on the bank of river Gaj. It is possible that before partition local Hindus might have visited and performed rituals just like tirath, but there is also no any historical confirmation about it. We think that most of our historians have followed the opinion of Taj Sahrae who, linked the nane of Gorakh with Sri or Guru Gorakh Nath. In this connection we should think over the origin and actual meaning of Sindhi word “Gorakh”. In Jam-e-Sindhi lughaat volume five by Dr: NA Baloch, published by Sindhi Adabi Board Jamshoro, the given meanings of word Gorakh are: a difficult, a labyrinth, a tangled, unsolvable problem, highest, biggest etc (page no: 2356). Meanwhile Sindhi to English dictionary by Permanand Mevaram published by Institute of Sindhology, Jamshoro has used English words: “intricate and difficult” for the meaning of word Gorakh. (Page no: 473). In the light of the above basic meaning of Sindhi word Gorakh;it is hypothesized that in origin the name of Gorakh hill is derived from Sindhi word gorakh. Having difficult tracks, curvy and dangerous ways, labyrinth ascents or inclines and intricate passes like Khawal, it is too difficult to reach or cross the Gorakh hill. The local people might have named it in the background of meaning of Sindhi word gorakh. So we think that Gorakh hill was named in the background of basic meaning of Sindhi word Gorakh.(Added by Aziz Kingrani, Johi,Dadu.)
Ishtiaq Saheb any more recalls from your 6 trips? I’d love to hear more. What is the closest place from Gorakh where food and water is available? Is it Wahi Pandi?
Its really adventurous Place. I have visited this place 6 times; i was the first who worked on the flora or vegetation of the gorakh hill. It was a HEC higher education commission program. First time I reached at top of gorakh hill on 14th august 2004. Amazing place of its kind. We have stayed there for three days. Now the road is well constructed and easy to travel there, but first when there was no proper road My GOD.